Career Best sixth for Mahindra Aspar's Martin

MOTO3

Posted on: 14 August, 2016

Spielberg, 14 August 2016: Spanish teenager Jorge Martin (Team Aspar Mahindra) led the way to a double points-scoring finish for the official Mahindra team in the sunny Alpine foothills today, claiming a career-best sixth place. Team-mate Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia narrowly missed a double top-ten for the only Indian constructer in MotoGP racing, finishing 11th.

It was a thrilling climax to an exciting race as the paddock returned to Austria for the first time since 1997; with the Pull & Bear-sponsored MGP3O Mahindras battling in a huge pack of riders across the sun-soaked hillsides. The 4.318-km Red Bull Ring is the fastest track on the calendar, and the Moto3 riders made the most of the slipstreaming opportunities, changing places corner by corner for all of the 23 laps.

Dutch TT winner Bagnaia had qualified in sixth and got away well, in the thick of a big leading group. But he was battling minor but costly set-up issues, and it was Martin making forward progress, from the fifth row of the grid.

He quickly moved through the pursuing pack to tag on to the back of the lead group, in sixth by lap six. From there to the end he was under constant attack, but managed to fight back every time to maintain the position at the finish.

His previous best finish was seventh in mixed conditions. Today’s sixth in perfect racing conditions was a feather in the cap for the former Red Bull Rookies champion, and further proof of the growing strength of the Mahindra racing machine.

Bagnaia also fought hard in a mighty brawl, earning five points to bring him tantalisingly close to third in the overall championship rankings. He now has 90 points, just three short of rival Romano Fenati, who missed today's race after being suspended by his team.

The team now journeys across the border to the Czech Republic, for next weekend’s GP in Brno as racing resumes to a hectic post-holiday schedule.

Jorge Martin - Sixth Position

"Finally we've had a good race. We’ve always been there in the points but something was always a little wrong. Today we had the pace for the whole race. It was an almost perfect weekend; I worked alone since the start of the Grand Prix, making my own pace. In the race I saw that when I was running alone it was better. It's a shame the front group escaped me, but I'm happy. The fall of Navarro upset me a little because I lost him as a reference, but it didn't slow me down too much. I was able to overtake well in the final laps and I finished within four seconds of the leader, which is very important. I've also achieved my best result in the World Championship, a great day!"

Mufaddal Choonia - CEO Mahindra Racing

"We don't leave Austria disappointed. A lot of pundits predicted that we would really struggle at this track, where acceleration is so important. We clearly showed this to be far from the truth, proving the strength of our continuing development. A big round of applause to Martin for his career-best sixth. But we are a little disappointed that Pecco wasn't able to take over third spot in the championship here. Now we go on to a frantic few weeks, hoping to continue building on what we have already achieved this year."

About Mahindra Racing

In 2016, Mahindra Racing is competing as a constructor in its fifth year in the Moto3TM class of MotoGPTM and remains the only Indian constructor in the series, having first participated in 2011. Mahindra Racing supplies the Mahindra MGP3O single-cylinder, 4-stroke, 250cc motorcycle to the factory Aspar Mahindra Team and three customer teams. Mahindra also supplies an official Peugeot Motocycles derivative of the MGP3O to the factory Peugeot MC Saxoprint Team.

Mahindra Racing made history in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix taking the first-ever podium for an Indian constructor. The MGP3O recorded top-five finishes in 10 of the 17 rounds in 2013 as well as a pole position, three circuit lap records and third in the constructors' rankings. The 2014 season saw a further three podium finishes for the Indian motorcycle, including second place at the Sachsenring. In 2015, the Mahindra regularly fought at the front of the ultra-competitive Moto3TM class and recorded a podium finish at Le Mans.

2016 got off to a strong start for Mahindra Racing with Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3 rider Francesco (Pecco) Bagnaia securing a third place podium finish at the opening round in Qatar. The podiums continued in Jerez and Mugello before Pecco made history with victory in Assen, Mahindra's first in the World Championship. It was a historic day for everyone involved and proved the high level performance capabilities of the MGP3O. As well as its commitment in the World Championship, Mahindra continues to supply MGP3O machines to Team Aspar to compete in World Championship feeder series, the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2016.

Mahindra's bold decision to take on the world's best at the highest level of motorcycle racing has won the team a number of prestigious awards in India, including: the NDTV Car and Bike Awards - 'Mobil 1 Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012 and 2013; the Bike India Magazine - 'Motorsport Award', 2013; and 'ZigWheels Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012. Mahindra also won ‘Racing Bike of the Year' at the Zeeignition Auto Awards, 2016.

In 2015, Mahindra & Mahindra was recognized as the Best Company for CSR in India in a study by the Economic Times. In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world's largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received the Financial Times 'Boldness in Business' Award in the 'Emerging Markets' category in 2013.